A Father's Daughter
by morganpetrovapendragon
Summary: Riley Grayson has taken her freedom to heart as she struggles to maintain her own humanity. A year away from Gotham has done nothing but trash the reputation of Gotham's sweetheart, turning the famous heiress into a sad party girl. However even in crippling times and young stubbornness, a father's love can be enough to nurse a person back into the world. fem!Nightwing
1. Part One

Riley didn't remember how she had gotten home that night,she didn't really remember the clothes she had been wearing or the people she had seen. All she knew is that one too many nights had been spent in the same routine since she had suffered such great loss. It would be thought that the loss of people was nothing but usual to the girl hidden beneath the mask, but for the billionaire heiress her actions were nothing but unusual.

People remembered her face, and after a year aboard people remembered the sight of the girl stumbling drunk through the streets of Gotham. The beautiful little girl that had fell into the arms of her adoptive father had been washed away by the freezing winter rains. Her raven locks near icy as she stuck her face, she couldn't believe she hadn't passed out from the cold first. The icy rains had blemished the makeup drunkenly placed onto her face, and as she twisted the door open to her little hovel she couldn't help but fell into the room with a unpleasant approach.

As the girl fell into the nearest seat, she found herself craving the warmth of the mansions fireplace and the sound of Alfred puttering away at a pot of hot tea. Her shriveled up fingers latched around the edge of a throw pulling over her soaking chilled shoulders as her face pressed into the sofa. A shiver ripped through her spine before her chattering breathe slowed into relief at the feeling of temporary home. It wasn't were she wanted to be, but the heiress settled with it as the drunken stupor pulled her closer to unconsciousness, unaware of the world around her.

The girl slipped into the realm of dreams and she found herself visited by the ghost of her past. Bruce's shadowy form stood in the corner of the room covering the concern that he found when the girl had no acknowledgment to his presence. The man moved closer when he heard her shallow breathes deepen into a peaceful sleep. The room was like ice, and he imaged that the girl was living on scraps she made herself. Bruce would never understand her stubbornness, how should couldn't go to someone and ask for help. There wasn't a thing the man wouldn't do for his daughter, and he couldn't stand to see her so close but so far away.

When he found out the girl had left Blüdhaven he was near frantic to find where she had run off to, but to what relief he had when his newest protégé led him right to the girl. Riley had come back for her brothers. It was in that thought that Bruce knew he could forgive the girl for anything. As the girl shivered beneath the cheap throw he couldn't help but wish he could erase the past few months and make things right between them.

With a sigh the old Bat made the decision that if he was going to do anything for his daughter, he would do it in the comforts of a warm home. In a moment he pulled a beacon from his belt, alerting the hovering aircraft to his ready state. Bruce moved to the sofa, using the heavily unconscious state of the sleeping girl to his advantage, and pulled her up into his arms. It took only a moment to move through the filthy hovel and out to the fire escape before dunking into the warm embrace of the aircraft.

The moment the warmth surrounded the two, she shifted in the man's grasp almost with relief. The concerning trembling that hung over his daughter like death subsided into a calming rest. Bruce placed the girl into the copilots chair and prayed she slept the entire way back. The alcohol that hung in the air was enough to make his stomach twist, but Bruce was aware of the sickness within her. The alcohol wasn't the problem, the actions weren't the problems either. Those were merely the symptoms of the disease within her.

For a moment he turned his gaze away from the snoozing beauty and allowed himself to focus on getting the two of them home. It took only a few minutes before he pulled the aircraft into the cave with a sigh of relief. It wasn't surprising to see Alfred waiting almost earnestly at the mouth of the cave to see what had been brought home with the Bat that night. The older man's gaze shifted to the vigilante holding the sleeping form of his daughter as they exited the craft. The butler quietly tutted at the pair before moving to led the other out of the cave.

Bruce led the girl up into the mansion, shushing her calmly as she stirred lightly in his arms. If he could just get her to the bedroom, have her fell the comforts of her home for just a moment, he could pursue her to stay. Once Bruce had returned back to her room he made quick work to lay her into the bed that had laid the same for the past year she had left. It was almost perfect for a slight moment, the girl he had saved so many years ago back in her home warm and safe.

He heard from a distance the sound of a shuffling form outside his daughters door. As he peered over still in his suit he saw the familiar gaze of his new protege, the boy's eyes flickering over to the bed with a confused expression before smiling in relief. Bruce's hand rose before gesturing for the boy to return to bed. Tim's eyes fell back to his sister's snoozing form before before nodding his way out of the doorway and shuffling back to his own room.

Leave it to his children to bring out the weakest points of the man's heart. Riley safe in her bed gave him a moment to collect his thoughts. The battle was only beginning as the new day would bring a reaction he couldn't prepare for, yet for now he could live with the beauty sleeping away the tortures of the day. His stiff posture turned to lay a kiss on the girls damp locks, before pulling the last of the warm blankets over her shoulders.

"Sleep well, pasăre meu dulce..."


	2. Part Two

Bruce left the comforts of his daughter's room with a soft grimace on his face. There should be a smile or some sort of relief, but he knew that it was only the start. As the man began to remove little layers of his suit he found himself in the presence of the other member of the home. Alfred's tired gaze following Bruce's in suit as he nodded his head towards the chair at the end of the kitchen's table. The older man was fiddling away with a kettle to start a cup of tea for his master. Bruce wanted to refuse but knew very well that Alfred had just as much right to worry over his daughter as he did. Alfred had been a grandfather to the girl, and in a lot of a ways much better at understanding her than he had been.

" Are you aware that she will tear the house apart in the morning?"

The older man's gaze turned to the younger well he pulled the now slowly bubbling kettle from the stove and moved to bring it to the table.

" I'm hoping that Tim will be the one to wake her up. She's less likely to blow up on him."

Bruce murmured with disapproval before turning within the oaken chair and pulled the cup on the table closer as the man met him with the kettle. With a fumble of a bag, Bruce allowed the butler to fill the cup that would only satisfy the hero if a large quantity of alcohol was introduced. Head in hand, the man noticed the butler's disapproving glance before throwing his hands in frustration.

" She's not going to accept my help regardless of what I say. She's so convinced that I hate her –"

"Have you ever taken a moment to let her air out her feelings then? Instead of trying to sweep them beneath the rug?"

The butler interrupted him with a cautionary look on his face. Alfred knew the girl just as Bruce did, and he knew that Bruce had a difficult time of understanding the girls feelings, much less feelings all together. If Riley had tried to speak to Bruce about the matter, it was unlikely the man truly listened to his daughter.

" She made it all to clear that she wanted nothing to do with me."

He answered with a slip of breathe. The beautiful girl snoozing away a drunken stupor upstairs had no idea the amount of confusion and damaged she caused to the older. Bruce wanted to laugh it off and say teenagers would be teenagers, but he knew that wasn't the case. Riley resented him for trying to make her into something she wasn't. She thought that his actions meant he couldn't love her as she was, and that was never the case.

It didn't matter what either of them thought, at the end of the day it would be up to Riley to make her own choices. Even if Bruce wanted his daughter home, he had to accept that his little girl may no longer want to be his little anything. Riley wasn't the little short haired acrobat flying around the house and skies with him every night anymore. She was a woman with far too many desires and dreams for Bruce to fulfill. A father can only give so much for his child, and now he could only lay his cards on the table.

Alfred sighed allowed before turning to set the kettle back onto the stove top and wiping away the steam of the drink. His aging expression wasn't never something to ignore as he approached the man once more placing a hand on his shoulder.

" You've raised her well, it's up to her to choose her path now."

Bruce nodded before moving to let the man slip away. For the first time taking the warm mug into his now gloveless fingers before letting the night sneak in. He knew that despite anything that could happen in the morning to come, he did what a father was suppose to do. He watched after his own, and gave her everything he could possibly do. He loved his daughter, and always would. That would have to be enough.

Thanks for reading so far! I was going to have this be a oneshot but could possibly let this go for a bit longer! Please give it review and let me know what you want to see!

Thanks ~ Ash


	3. Part Three

She felt heavy within the curled and tangled form of her. For once the harsh chill of morning did not wake her, and instead she found the lull almost peaceful. It was like being caressed by clouds as she awoke in a familiar silk set of sheets. As she pulled from the foggy state it slowly came to frame that she was not in her little hovel on the outskirts of Gotham. She was warm and safe, the air smelt of honey and cinnamon and within a moment she felt her chest clench with both gladness and sorrow. Riley was home. In the brief moment she was safe from the abomination she had cast herself into, wanted to throw the covers over top her head with relief.

Home. The place where food was always prepared and the floors were toasty and warm. The roar of the fireplace crackled and spat in its soothing pace and she couldn't help but turn in her blankets to stare into the abyss of it. She wasn't sure how long she stared into the pit of warmth. All she heard was the thunder of steps down the marble hall and the crack of her door being thrown open with a scream of glee. Her crystalline gaze widened as she rolled to see a little creature jumping atop of her in her bed. Her chest clenched against the weight of her little brother and she couldn't help but laugh with a cloudy laugh. Perhaps it was the hours of sleep she had caught up on or the healing qualities of being out of the grime and grit of the slums.

The bells of laughter followed her own and Damian's hands wrapped around her with a force. "I'm so glad you're home! I told them you would come back!" He declared with laugh, his gaze turning down to her own as she smiled back at him. A part of her wanted to allow the confusion to mirror the reality but she didn't want to steal this moment from her brother. With his monkey like vice around her neck she wormed her way into sitting straight again. "Calm down, little beast. I have to breathe as well..." She croaked with her exhausted voice. Damian's brow rose and for a moment Riley cracked a smile at his resemblance to Bruce.

It only took her joking words for the little beast's demeanor to return and his gaze narrow at the sight. She knew she was in for it, but decided she wasn't going to deal with it so early in the day. Before he could even attempt to scold her she was saved by the entrance of her other brother. Riley sighed before flickering her gaze over. Tim's messy mane fell over his brow from a tossing sleep and she knew in the back of her mind that she had left him to fall for this. Riley left her home because of Bruce and herself's actions. She left more than just home; her brothers were proof of the damage. "I don't suppose you'd like to join us in the waking world today." Tim asked with a smirk, the girls careful gaze peered past him almost waiting to see if Bruce was lurking behind him.

Riley supposed that she would have to take the worst with the best of this. To see her brother's would mean that she would have to deal with their father, and even worse the world around him. A sigh left her lips and she pulled away from the warm bed with reluctance as Damian bounced himself off the foot of it and sped from the room as if to warn the rest of the house that Riley was getting out of bed. She paused, noticing her slippers lay beside her bed in the same spot as always. Her raven brow furrowed as Tim approached with careful measure. "Alfred brought in your things, and started the fire. He always said you did sleep best with one going..." The younger boy's eyes strayed to the flickering heat as she slipped her shoes on and moved to him. "I don't think Alfred came all the way to the Black Harbor to get me in my sleep..." She murmured quietly in reply to his careful words. His eyes flickered up to meet hers with stillness that she remembers belonging to another face.

The answer was clearer than daylight and yet no one seemed willing to say it. Riley was led from her bedroom with her brother had her side as they crossed the halls with a somber step. When they arrived in the kitchen Riley noticed the silver haired butler standing at the stove with vigor. She entered the room to the scent of blueberries and cinnamon. Pancakes were sizzling on the pan and a kettle was glimmering atop the range fire. Home, she thought to herself with a breathe. Tim's gaze remained on his sister, smirking only when he noticed the smile on her face. His arm wrapped around her own to pull her from her stunned memories and turned her to the island table. Damian's thundering steps could be heard above them, and she knew that his morning routine of breaking at least one artifact in the home was not untarnished.

"I suppose you will be wanting your eggs runny, Ma'am?" Alfred asked carefully as she pulled her napkin from the table into her lap. The blue eyed beauty glanced over to him with a laugh. "-After all this time Alfred, I wouldn't care if you served them to me from the chicken itself." She joked before turning her gaze back to the table. The older man smiled lightly, knowing that she would take her eggs the same way she had since she was a girl. Tim sat next to get around the table and quickly helped himself to the pitcher of juice nestled in the middle. Riley wondered how many mornings had been spent in silence since she left, how often that no words were passed among each other and silent routine controlled them.

Riley turned her gaze back to her brother and smiled, "So what are we doing today then? I suppose if I'm to be kept on a leash than I should at least been given able time to prepare myself." His gaze nearly soured momentarily, almost as if he was taking her words to be anger and disappointment. She had left them there, and now returning with bitterness. However that wasn't how she had meant the words, only conflict she had wished for was the resolution of one between herself and their father. It was as the thoughts provoked the man, and within the finishing of the thought the shadowed man appeared in the doorway with Damian in tow. "You're not on a leash. You're home. You could at least be grateful for your brother caring enough to want to do things with you." He replied bitterly before passing Damian off to Alfred and taking his usual cup of coffee to the cave.

She bit her tongue, trying to quell the instant rage that inflamed within her the moment he mocked her. Riley meant no hate to her family, she had no desire to cause distress between them and yet it was all Bruce seemed to do. When he left she couldn't help but grab the cutlery from the table top and throw it into the wall were he passed through. Her eyes darkening as she seethed momentarily, Tim's smirk returning as Alfred stared at her with a scowl, "Now who's going to have to fix that, hm?" Riley's scowl faded into more of a regretful state and she sighed sinking back into the chair. Tim took a sip of his juice as Damian scurried up into the chair across from the pair. His energetic form was dampened the moment he laid eyes on his sister. Her brow rose as his expression, almost daring him to comment.

His nose scrunched with frustration before turning his gaze back to Alfred. "Butler, I want dino nuggets." Riley's eyes lightening at the words before Alfred turned back to him. "Master Damian, if you want your nuggets you will have to sit there for another eight hours. Otherwise, you'll eat pancakes or starve." Tim let a chuckle fall from his lips before turning to look at his sister. For a moment, she thought, she could enjoy being home.


End file.
